Why so good?
The entire Spiderman trilogy is so good (particularly the first two) not because of its fantastic FX, made even more marvelous ;-) in HD, not because of great acting that, with intuitive genius, includes over-the-top performances by limited, key actors (editor, villains), combined with over-the-top powers and toys of the villains to link-in the comic-book (alright, graphic novelette) genre’s mood, while keeping the performances of Parker and his personal circle on an emotional, earthly level, but the three movies are sooo good because the story is written so well, with the priority on character, character, character, and the love story, as stated in the first movie’s opening monologue, and held true throughout.
Peter Parker’s (Toby Maguire) trials with his family, friend, Harry (James Franco) and love-interest, MJ (Kirsten Dunst), are such that the audience is so drawn into the interactions and outcomes, including the strong, inner struggle Parker has with his super-hero alter-ego, that the FX, stunts, toys, and even the conflict with the villains (who are also excellently flushed out and played, with dual, warmly human and wholly evil sides) is a secondary aspect that provides, more than anything else, pace and excitement to accent the real story that moves with the slower pace a plot moved by character demands. This is what good writing, the most important component of any story, in any media, is all about, and with all three Spiderman movies, the good writing prevails, opposite to so many or almost all movies of the genre which make the FX and the combat of villain and hero the centerpiece and wraps a plot, if a story, around that, resulting in another Hollywood failure added to the heap of such two-star-and-less failures.
Great casting also contributes to the effectiveness of character development and the story. The more common, physical attributes of the two leads helps keep their lives down to earth, contributing to an aurora of believability that the viewer can buy into, which would have been greatly diminished if the producers would have filled the role of Parker with a Twilight-James-Dean incarnation (like James Franco, who plays Harry, Parker’s friend) and MJ with a compatibly stunning beauty. And the villains’ characters are excellently brought to life by Willem Dafoe, Alfred Molina, and Thomas Haden Church.
The three movies of the first-generation Spiderman are all anyone could hope for, except to hope that the new generation will be produced with care that the same values making the first generation a stand-out will be in the fore of the minds of the writers, producers, and director.Read full review
